Neglected Space
by Twilight Princess Zelda
Summary: Midna has broken the mirror of Twilight, leaving Link in a state of utter confusion, and Zelda lost in her own mind. Something needs to change.
1. Link: Introduction

She stares down at her dinner, her sad deep blue eyes looking pale. Her hand touches the edge of the table. Her next move is more than predictable. She traces a finger along the edge of her bowl before pushing it away.

"I'm not hungry." She speaks in a barely audible voice. I take a minute to find the words I want to say.

"Zelda…you've got to eat something…" My voice is just as quiet. She shakes her head, her eyes focused on nothing. A familiar sound fills the room. Troubled silence. The same silence that was present after the mirror shattered. The same silenced that graced our ride to Ordon. The same silence that refused to make an exit. It was as if Midna took all of the sound in the world with her when she left.

"Zelda, I-" Zelda cuts me off, standing up and cleaning her dishes.

"I'm going for a walk." She announces, facing the door, her hand on the knob. She waits for my response.

"…Be careful…" Is all I can say. She takes a deep breath and leaves.

There is the silence again.

I had always seen my home as a very joyful place but now…the walls feel like they're going to cave in under the pressure of the topic we're avoiding. I just need to say it. _Midna broke the mirror. She's gone. It's over. _But I can't. It seems unreal. Everything. Midna is gone, the princess of Hyrule was rendered homeless in a battle, and now she is living with me. Never in a million years did I see myself in this place.

I look out the window. There she is. A tiny moonlit figure, standing in the field. She falls to her knees, her head in her hands, crying. I fight the urge to run to her and attempt to fix everything but I can't. I can't fix anything. I'll just make things worse.

But there she is.

Hyrule's great princess.

Crying before me.

Suffering from the aftermath of war.

And I am silent.


	2. Zelda: Shattered

I sit in a wooden chair by the door while Link sleeps quietly on the sofa. I don't think he intended on falling asleep there. I fiddle with a strand of my hair, trying to pinpoint the reason I am shivering so violently. I feel no cold upon my skin. I hold the strand up to the light. It appears almost golden. When I release it again, it reverts to its normal sun-deprived brown.

My morning thoughts flutter about like they always do. I have to catch them one at a time. The first ones are always the most dark and twisted. I don't want to hear what they have to say. I can't handle it.

I go back to fingering two strands of my hair, twisting them together. I begin thinking about my old room. _The walls were made of grey stone. The bed had a feather pillow and a royal purple comforter. There was a vanity made of white wood with six little drawers and a mirror- _My hand twitches and I rip out the strands of hair I had been tangling.

The nip of pain I feel is oddly refreshing. I put my hand in my lap quickly. It is just a few strands of hair now, but if I left myself to my own devices, it would be worse. I don't want to see my own blood. I don't want to see anyone's blood. I don't want to hear a scream or a shatter. I never want to see my reflection again. I just want to erase history.

My eyes focus on nothing as Link stirs in his sleep. I can't break my gaze on the air in front of me even as he wakes from his sleep. I just stare and stare and stare at the ground across the room.

"Zelda! I'm sorry! You should have woken me up!" Link throws in a laugh at the end of his sentence. His smile radiates across the room.

"In other words, good morning." I try to react with a small laugh but I am unable to. I feel frozen.

"Zelda?" Link asks. I blink repeatedly, finally breaking my stare. I look up at him.

"Good morning." My voice is so cold. I hate it.

"I'm going to make some breakfast. What would you like?" Link asks. I stand so I can be at the same level as his eyes.

"I'm not hungry." I shake my head. Link looks worried.

"Zelda you didn't east a thing all day yesterday! You need the strength." I close my eyes and shake my head. What do I need the strength for? Link searches for words.

"I miss her too." His voice is like a knife. I didn't want to hear that.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I choke.

"She broke the mirror, she's gone. Midna-"

"Stop." I squeak, not sure how much talk of Midna I can handle. Link ignores my plea.

"She did so much for us and-"

"Stop!" I raise my voice and cover my ears. I don't want to talk about Midna.

"I miss her too Zelda!" Link takes my hand, an attempt to comfort me.

"Don't speak of her!" I shout tearing my hand away. "Just…don't…" I can't finish my sentence. Link looks hurt for a moment, but covers it up. He goes to the kitchen, leaving me standing alone.

"Link." I speak up.

"Yes Zelda?" He replies.

"…I guess I'm a little hungry." I turn to face him. He smiles at me, triumphant.

"That's more like it."

Link and I walk to Rusl and Uli's house after a lovely breakfast of Ordonian cakes. They let us in and seat us on the couch.

"I'll be in in a minute!" Uli calls from the kitchen, where she washes dishes. Rusl sits across from us.

"Hello Link, Princess." He gives us each a nod. "I wanted to thank you…for all that you've done, for Hyrule and our village. We would be lost without you. Which is why, princess, we'd like to help you build a new castle." My eyes widen.

"That's very kind but, you don't need to-"

"We insist. You have sacrificed so much for our wellbeing. It is but the least we can do." I think of an excuse. They can't do this for me. It is because of my weakness that all in Hyrule have suffered. I cannot accept their gifts. I go to speak but am interrupted.

In the kitchen, Uli loses her grip on a plate and it falls to the ground with a loud crash. The glass shatters and pieces scatter. I scream and cover my ears. Shattering. I hate shattering. I also hate mirrors, because mirrors can break, or be broken.

"Oh goodness." Uli begins cleaning up the mess. "I'm sorry! I'm so clumsy." I shake my head as if to tell Uli she shouldn't apologize. My body begins shivering violently, my ears still covered. I feel tears streaming down my cheeks. That one sound triggered it all. _Shatter._

"Zelda? Are you okay?" Link puts a hand on my shoulder. I compose myself quickly.

"Yes. Sorry, I'm a bit on edge. I just need some fresh air." I gather my skirts and let myself outside. I collapse on the ground, my legs no longer able to hold me. I let my tears consume me. I hear the door open. Its Link no doubt.

"I lied, Link. I lied to both of us. I'm far from okay." I sobbed. Link fell to his knees at my side. I sat up to look at him, trying to hold myself together. A new wave of tears took over as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Something needs to change." Link sighed. "Something needs to change."


	3. Link: Plans

Midna,

What did you do?

I apologized to Rusl and Uli and took Zelda home. There she sat in her chair by the door, staring at nothing, refusing to speak. I don't think it's a matter of her being rude. It's a matter of her being sick. Not sick with a fever or flu. Her mind is ailing, not her body. Midna took something with her when she left. Be it Zelda's sanity or my sense of the ground, she took something.

Now Zelda sleeps upstairs in my room while I sit alone in the kitchen, pondering what to do about her. What is she beating herself up over? She got so upset when I brought up Midna and I've never seen her look as uncomfortable as when Rusl brought about the idea of a new castle. She's blaming herself for something that's not her fault. But what?

I rest my head on the kitchen table. For the first time in my life, I feel lost in the world. Everything was supposed to go back to normal. Everything was supposed to be perfect again. But there I was. Hyrule had been saved, but I hadn't. Neither had Midna. Neither had Zelda.

We all need each other more than ever, but Midna is somewhere in the Twilight realm, Zelda is slowly becoming a ghost of herself, and I…I am still not sure what's real. Maybe this is all just a hallucination. Maybe I'm lost in the desert. Maybe this is a metaphor for something and I'm still listening to Lanayru speak at the sacred spring. Maybe I died somewhere along the road.

I fall asleep on the sofa again. When I wake I see that Zelda isn't downstairs like she had been the day before. To make sure that she hasn't left the house, I go upstairs to see if she is still asleep. Surely enough she is. I turn to leave, but something catches my eye. Her arm. The one that hangs over the side of the bed. She has a massive scar. Not a regular scar though. This scar spells the words _twilight princess _out boldly on her pale skin.

I scowl and return to the kitchen, where I make an important decision.

When Zelda comes downstairs for the morning, I don't waste any time.

"Who did that to you Zelda?" I ask firmly. Her eyes widen and she worriedly throws a fleeting glance at her arm.

"…You saw?" She squeaks. I nod and walk towards her.

"Who did that to you?" I ask again. Zelda takes a deep breath, trying to keep her composure.

"I did…under Gannondorf's influence." She takes another staggering breath. "Link, he was inside my head. I couldn't think without him poisoning my thoughts. He said he wanted to brand me as what I was…and then I unwillingly grabbed a knife and…" Zelda burst into tears. I take her hand and sit her down on the sofa.

"Zelda, we're leaving Hyrule." I speak softly.

"What?" She asks, catching her breath.

"You and I are leaving Hyrule together. Its not healthy for you to stay here." I repeat.

"Where will we go?" She asks, growing more and more curious.

"There is a land parallel to Hyrule, Termina. We can stay there as long as we need. Then when we come back to Hyrule-" Zelda cuts me off.

"Termina…sounds familiar." She muses. I smile at her.

"We leave tomorrow morning." I inform her. This is the first time I've ever seen her smile. She is beautiful when she smiles. Her eyes sparkle and her face lights up.

"Okay." She whispers, excited by the idea of running away.


	4. Midna: Wounds Left Unhealed

The truth. It's the truth, it's the truth, it's the truth, it's the truth. When will people learn to accept that? I was in the world of light. I went on an adventure. I broke the mirror. That all happened. And I'm not gong to pretend it didn't.

I don't feel like I've accomplished anything. I sit in the throne room, staring out the window, dreaming of light. Light I can't have. The shadow I live in makes me sick sometimes. I hate it. Despise it. But I just can't get enough. It's a cruel obsession every Twili is born with. If I could get rid of it, I would.

The door opens behind me and I instantly stop gazing outside. In walk my mother and my advisor, Jaira. I stand to greet them.

"Sit down Midna." Mother orders. I do as I am told, not happy that she snapped at me. Jaira pulls over a chair and sits across from Mother and I.

"It is nice to see you again, Princess." Jaira speaks in her mousy little voice. I smile and give her a nod.

"As it is to see you, Jaira! How is your family-" Mother cuts me off.

"Stay on topic Midna." A scowl creeps across my face. I shake it away. Mother gives Jaira a nod, signaling for her to proceed. Jaira throws me a kind glance before looking down at the notes on her lap. She clears her throat before speaking.

"As you know, our times of…crisis, if you will, have ended. Planning for your coronation will continue where it left off."

"C-coronation?" I ask, nerves taking over. Jaira gives me a small nod.

"The future queen cannot be forgetful." Mother reminds me. I'm not even listening to her anymore.

"We just want to do some planning in advance. What are the first issues you want to address as queen?" the room goes silent for a moment. I take a deep breath before saying what I have wanted to say for so long.

"I want to make peace with the world of light…" I murmur. Mother scowls.

"Midna, you must speak up, mumbling is impolite!" I make my scowl visible to her and repeat myself, more confidence acting as base to my voice.

"I want to make peace with the world of light." Jaira gasps and instantly covers her mouth with her hand, not wanting to be disrespectful. Mother is frozen with a shocked expression on her face. I swallow and draw a shaky breath.

"In my time spent in the light world, I found the people to be very kind and-" Mother cuts me off as she has done so many times in the past ten minutes. This time she stands up sharply.

"Midna, your lack of Twilight is making you delusional. You need some rest. Come Jaira we must leave Midna to rest-" It is my turn to cut her off.

"I am not delusional!" I snap. Mother looks at me sternly.

"Watch your tone young lady-" I cut her off again. I shouldn't make a habit of it, but cutting her off makes me feel like I have control of my life for once.

"Just listen to me, Mother! The light world is an amazing place! He accepted me even when I was hideous." I think about my time as an ugly little imp.

"Who is this 'he'" Mother's voice grows icy. Did I say he? Big mistake. Big, big mistake. I falter for an excuse.

"…D-did I say he? I meant they…"

"Don't lie to me Midna." Mother grabs my arm firmly, her red eyes piercing into mine.

"Okay so there was a boy. So what?" My voice grows almost frantic. What is she going to do to me? Has she gone mad?

"Tell me more." Her grip tightens. I take a deep breath.

"His name was Link. He accepted me as a guide even when I was a hideous creature. He was affected by the Twilight as well. He was kind and brave and funny and…I…consider him a close friend." I cough uncomfortably. Mother lets go of my arm and begins pacing. She is deep in thought. She gives a small, but audible laugh.

"You sound like you're in love with this boy." My anger rises faster than it ever has.

"Maybe I am!" I shout. My voice echoes off of the stone walls in the throne room. Mother turns to face me. I can't tell if she is furious, frightened, or just shocked. She purses her lips.

"Who else did you meet?" Her voice is so stiff and cold. I still cannot get past my anger.

"Don't be impolite Mother. Speak up!" The color in Mother's face rises.

"Who else did you meet!?" She shouts at me. Jaira jumps from where she huddles in the corner. I find myself speaking with more bravery than expected.

"I met Zelda the princess of light. She's my best friend. And I want to make peace with her world!" Mother turns away from me for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She turns back and begins to walk towards me. Is she going to strike me? Is she going to banish me? Mother surprises me by throwing her arms around me, an embrace.

"Midna, remember your place. Twilight is where you belong." The calmness in her voice when relaying that random message infuriates me. I push her away.

"Belong? Twilight is where I belong?! What makes me "belong" anywhere?! Do you belong where you were raised? Where you are happy? Where people love you? Is it where people love you, Mother? If so…there are more people that love me in the light world than there are here!" Mother's hand covers her heart. I have offended her. For the first time in my life, I don't care.

"Midna…" She sniffs.

"Good day." I exit the throne room and walk to my bedroom, head held high. I sit on my bed and look at my hands, deep in thought. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm not. I'm in love with more than just the world of light…I'm in love with him. I don't even want to say his name. I know what I can't have.

Maybe I should get some rest. Or maybe I should deny myself sleep. What is right? Maybe I should just disappear without a trace and leave everyone to wonder what happened.


End file.
